PHYSICS 171
GENERAL CLASS INFORMATION
Spring 2024
Lab Section Section : Day Time
Instructor: …………………….
Contact info:
...............................
Office hours: ...............................
Lab Coordinator (and not your Instructor): Dr. V. Petkov
Contact info: e-mail: <petko1vg@cmich.edu>; phone: 3395
Office hours: by arrangement
Course Description: In this course you will be introduced to experiments illustrating important principles of thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, optics and atomic physics. You may find these experiments very helpful in illuminating topics
covered in
the lecture courses dealing with the same subject matter. However, the intent
of the
course is not simply to supplement the lectures. Its main objective is
to help you learn experimental techniques, organize
your
experimental data in the form of written reports, and derive scientifically sound conclusions based on the organized data. The experiments
and their schedule are
listed below. The course does not use a particular text. Instead, detailed descriptions of the experiments have been prepared for you and posted at http://people.cst.cmich.edu/petko1vg/phy171/
as ADOBE PDF files. It is your responsibility to download the
description of the experiment for the particular week of classes and read it.
Lab reports: Each student must turn in a report for each
lab. In many cases, students complete everything during the class period and turn in their lab report (introduction, data sheets, data analysis, calculations, plots and conclusion) to the instructor before leaving. If you do not turn in your lab report to the instructor at the end of the class, you have to upload it to Blackboard in a time frame decided by your Instructor. Lab reports will be graded on a 10-point scale and returned back to you during next class period.
Deadlines: Completed lab reports are due by 5 p.m. on Friday (the same week the Lab was done), unless your Instructor decides to change the due time/day. Lab reports turned in late will receive zero points.
Course Format: This course will be taught in a face-to-face mode. If/when necessary, we will shift to an online (asynchronous) mode.
Procedure: Please hang up your coats and book bags when you
enter the Lab. Show
to your Instructor the introduction you have prepared, listen to
his/her
specific or general comments and instructions, and then start working.
Do not leave the lab until you are sure that all experimental data has been
properly collected.
In most cases you will finish taking data before the class period
ends. If
this is the case, you are expected to complete your report during the
remainder
of class and turn it in before you leave.
You are expected to leave your work place, including the experimental set-up, as you found it. Your
Instructor may
deduct points from your lab report if your work place is left in a mess.
You may
be held responsible for damaged or missing equipment at your work place, so
have it checked by your Instructor before you leave.
Lab Partners: Unless the class is over subscribed, you may work
with
only one lab partner. Groups of three may be permitted if the
experiments
allow & require it.
Use of Blackboard - Blackboard requires specific hardware and software to ensure adequate performance and connectivity. Use of a desktop or laptop computer with wired internet connection is strongly recommended because mobile devices with wireless connections are less stable and more likely to drop off. To verify if your own system meets requirements, visit Blackboard Browser Check page
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory ! Labs can only be made
up if
the absence is due to serious circumstances and the lab Instructor
is
notified immediately of your absence.
Exams: There will be a mid-term exam covering experiments 1-6 and an end-of-term exam
covering experiments 7-13. The exams will be "lab practicals." You
will be asked to carry out and interpret measurements as well as perform
calculations
similar to those done in the lab the previous weeks.
The exams will be open notes & lab reports and two hours long. Also, every student will work alone and turn in an individual exam sheet. Note, the end-of-term exam is in the week of finals (examination week) at the usual time & day your class meets.
Grades: The grade in this course will be based on your weekly
lab
reports, and your performance on the mid-term and end-of-term exams.
Each will
count towards one-third of your final grade. The average grade in this
course has been in the "B" range.
Central Michigan University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Sect 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you have a disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please register with the Office of Student Disability Services (Park Library, Room 120, 989-774-3018) and contact me with a letter of accommodations as soon as possible. Retroactive requests for accommodations will not be honored. For more information, see https://www.cmich.edu/ess/studentaffairs/SDS/Pages/default.aspx.
Central Michigan University, an AA/EO institution, strives to maintain our campus as a place of work and study for faculty, staff, and students that is free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and harassment based upon age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex-based stereotypes, sexual orientation, veteran status, or weight. Any student who has concerns about such behavior should contact their instructor or the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity at 989-774-3253 or ocrie@cmich.edu.
PHYSICS 171 (Dow 202)
Lab Schedule
Spring 2024
Lab pre-reading: Experimental data error analysis
Dates
Lab
Week 1 Exp. 1: Ideal Gas Laws and Heat Engine
Week 2 Begin Exp. 2: Direct
Current
Measurement and Ohm's Law
Week 3 Finish Exp. 2: Direct Current Measurement and Ohm's Law
Week 4 Exp. 3: Kirchhoff's Laws
Week 5 Exp. 4: Attenuation and Phase Shift
Week 6 Exp. 5: Transient Response of an RC Circuit
Week 7 Exp. 6: PN Junction and Diodes
Week 8: Mid-term exam
Week 9 Exp. 7: The Charge of the Electron
Week 10 Exp. 8: Magnetic Force on a Current Carrying Wire
Week 11 Exp. 9: Faraday's Law of Induction
Week 12 Exp. 10: Geometrical Optics: Reflection of Light
Week 13 Exp. 11: Geometrical Optics: Refraction of Light and Lenses
Week 14 Exp. 12: Physical Optics: Diffraction, Interference and Polarization of Light
Week 15 Exp. 13: Radiation, radioactivity and isotopes
Examinations week: End-of-term exam